The Day After
by doctorsuez
Summary: Everyone loves the day after Thanksgiving but for different reasons but what does it have in store for our favorite non couple. My attempt at a Max Keenan meet Hank Booth fic. Takes place after Foot in the Foreclosure. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N - This is my effort at a Max Keenan meet Hank Booth fic. I thought it would be an interesting little facet to explore. I just had to write it. I know I haven't updated my other ****fics in a few weeks but I am working on them. I wanted to get this one out of my mind and finished so I could focus a little better. Hopefully I'll get something up for my regular readers soon.**

**I hope you guys enjoy this. It's meant to be fun. Hopefully it will turn out that way. It's going to be a 2 or 3 shot depending on how long winded I get.**

**I appreciate all the feedback and reviews I can get. You guys are great. Please keep letting me know what you think.**

**Thanks to Stef for being my idea bouncer, MickeyBoggs and Thnx4theGum for proofing for me. You ladies rock!**

Disclaimer - I do not own Bones.

Chapter 1

Everyone loved the day after Thanksgiving for different reasons. Some people loved it because it was a bonus day off of work. Some people loved it for the shopping. Still others loved it for the calm that followed the storm of Thanksgiving preparations and Christmas decoration hanging.

The Jeffersonian staff was no different than the rest of the world despite their inflated IQs and high profile jobs. November 26, 2009 found the team at their favorite day after Thanksgiving activities. Angela Montenegro was lost in a large mob at local specialty shops looking for the best deal on the most amazing and unique Christmas gifts possible. She wasn't rich like most of her little work family. She and Booth were the brown baggers in their crew. She decided a long time ago that despite the lack of money she would still find the perfect gift. Part of that search required hauling herself out of bed at 3 am to get to the stores early. She loved every minute of it and was oblivious to everything except price tags and sale announcements.

Cam was the exact opposite. She did everything she could to avoid retail stores from the middle of November until December 27. She still loved Black Friday, though. It was the primal display of male strength that pulled her in. Nothing said a great day like back to back football games. Pro and college, they were all there. Heck, if she tried hard enough she figured she could even find a peewee game on somewhere to watch. It didn't matter what form it came in, she loved it. She'd handle her Christmas shopping online later. All day one could find her camped on her sofa staring at her plasma with Michelle close beside her.

Seeley Booth hated shopping and even though he loved football, it wasn't why he loved the day after Thanksgiving. He loved it for the family. Normally, he conceded Thanksgiving Day to Rebecca as long as he could have Parker for that Friday. This year, however, was different. Rebecca had taken Parker to her grandparents' home in Vermont. She'd used the "Seeley, this might be their last year" excuse. It, of course, worked and he spent Thanksgiving Day with his grandfather, Hank Booth.

When he first learned Rebecca was taking Parker he was upset. He quickly lit up when his partner, his Bones gave him the idea of getting Hank out for the night and spending time with him. "You know, Booth," she'd said. "Now that you understand his needs and won't be tied up with a case, you will be better prepared to deal with him," she finished.

The idea of springing his Pops from the assisted living facility changed what would have been an awful, miserable holiday into an enjoyable occasion immediately. Booth loved Pops and knew that giving him a nice Thanksgiving would make his year.

On Thanksgiving Day, Booth and Pops spent the morning preparing a nice meal together. It was nice and Pops was quite complimentary of Booth's new flat surface stove. He said it cooked much better than the hunk of junk that caught on fire. Thankfully, Brennan had agreed to come over for lunch. She was hosting her family at 6 PM but had already finished the preparations. She had no issues with ordering everything so all she had to do was set her table and await the delivery around 5. It left her plenty of time to have a nice lunch with Booth and Hank.

That's exactly what the lunch was, nice. It was family. They laughed. Hank shared stories from the war and even shared a few stories about Booth as a child.

"You know, Temperance," he'd said. "Shrimp here; he was quite the little pistol. This one time, he told Jared that he had made some blue Kool Aid. The little runt took a huge swig before he realized it was Windex," he laughed hysterically as he recounted the events of the day. "His grandmother threw a fit and withheld pie from Seeley here for a week. I've never seen a boy mope as much as Seeley did that week."

"At least I know how to punish him if he gets out of line," Brennan said. "Booth, you do realize the danger of ingesting ammonia containing cleaners, right?"

"Bones, I was 12. I didn't even know how to say ammonia," he retorted.

She nodded slightly. "I suppose that is a valid argument," she said as she took one last bit of the cheesecake she was finishing off. "A person of average intelligence wouldn't be expected to know the periodic table of the elements at age 12," she finished.

Booth just laughed. "Let me guess, Bones. You knew the periodic table by that age," he teased.

"Uh huh," she answered while taking a sip of coffee. "I actually learned it at . . ." she paused. "That was a rhetorical question, wasn't it?" she asked. She was still working on learning all of the social cues from him.

He smiled at her with the smile he only gave to her. "Yep, but you know what, Bones? Since you are a genius, I'll let that one slide," he said as he gave her a squeeze on the shoulder while standing to clear the table.

They worked on clearing the table and washing dishes as a trio. Brennan and Booth bickered in typical Brennan / Booth form. It was what they did.

Truth be told, they did so much more than that. They bickered. They solved crimes. They laughed, cried, and loved. That was what they did.

Hank just watched the interaction before him. They were just like his late wife and himself. They were always at each other but you could always tell by the look in their eyes that the love was genuine, pure. They were meant to be together they just didn't know it yet. He knew they would both come to their senses eventually. After all, he knew and has always taught his boys that everything happened eventually.

Brennan hated when it came time for her to leave. She loved her family; she'd relearned how to love them over the last couple of years. She hadn't completely forgotten what happened, how they'd hurt her but she pushed through it and learned to love them for who they were at the moment and not hold what they had done against them for the rest of her life. The thing was, though, the years that were lost still separated them in some ways. It was hard to understand each other.

That was not true with Booth. They understood each other completely. She'd probably deny it if someone asked her but she felt more like a part of a family with Booth and Hank than she did with her biological family. She wasn't sure when she came to believe Booth's words about more than one kind of family but she believed it all now. She believed it in her metaphorical heart.

While Booth and Hank hated to see Brennan go, they looked forward to the following day. Brennan had given Booth season tickets to the Capitals for his birthday this year. She'd mainly given them to him knowing that they played to Flyers several times during the regular season. Today, however, they weren't playing the Flyers but Booth and Hank didn't care. They were both just looking forward to the time together. Loving food at sporting events must have been genetic because neither of them could stand to wait the entire 18 hours until they headed for the rink.

**

Dinner with Brennan's family was quite comfortable. Max, Russ, Amy, Emma, and Hayley were all there. The food was excellent and as a family they cleared the table and took care of all the dishes before heading to the living room to chat. Russ shared stories about their childhood and Max elaborated as necessary.

The girls had taken quite the liking to their Auntie Temperance over the past couple of years. As the adults talked, they kept crawling into her lap and kicking her in the stomach as they did so. Brennan's reactions completely confused herself. It was uncomfortable yet comfortable at the same time. Each time she would feel the pain of Hayley's chocolate boot in her thigh, she somehow knew she was loved. It was a feeling that she was finally getting used to. Booth had spent over four years trying to teach her how to accept love.

Booth's efforts were not in vain; she was learning. She allowed him to do things for her, to get close to her. He understood that in order for someone to be capable of giving love, they had to be able to accept love.

Obviously, Booth had been very successful in teaching his partner to feel loved. She was completely incapable of avoiding talking about Booth. No matter what conversation their little family got into, Brennan somehow related it to Booth. The story of her falling out of a tree at 10 and Russ having to carry her all the way back to the house because she was quite confident that she had a greenstick fracture of her left ulna. "You know, Tempe," Russ said as he recounted the events of that day many years ago. "I never understood how you could have been right about your arm," he laughed as he spoke. "I guess now we know since you have like 12 degrees in boneology," he kidded with his baby sister.

She threw her head back and laughed a little bit. "You sound like Booth," she said. She didn't quite understand why everyone found it so amusing but it really didn't matter to her.

The night continued on and around 8:30 everyone prepared to leave. She kissed Emma and Hayley and promised Russ that she would see him soon. Max was the last to leave and as he did he pulled his baby girl into a big hug.

"Thanks for tonight, Baby," he said. "It was really nice to have everyone in the same room again," he went on. "That was our second Thanksgiving to not have orange in the family picture," he kidded.

"I know, Dad," she agreed. "It's good to have you back."

He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow, Baby," he said as he went to leave.

"Wait, what?" she didn't mean to sound completely startled but her plans for the following day consisted of skeletons and not family togetherness.

"Oh," he laughed slightly at his daughter's reaction. "I'm running the enrichment camp. Don't worry," he reassured her. "We'll be over in the main museum for the day. We shouldn't even step foot in the lab."

Brennan breathed a sigh of relief at his final words before leaving. She closed the door, locked the dead bolt, and headed straight for her bedroom. The day had taken a lot out of her and she quickly collapsed onto the bed. Thanksgiving was over and honestly it was the best one that she had had in years. She spent time with her biological and selective family. She felt like part of a family for the first time in quite a long time. Sure, they'd spent the holidays together last year but they weren't quite a family yet.

**

As much as Brennan loved Thanksgiving Day this year, she couldn't wait to get started on the day after. Angela and Cam both had the day off, Booth was going to a testosterone laden event, and all of the interns had traveled home to their various parts of the country. The only other person who would actually be in the lab was Hodgins. He usually stayed relatively quiet playing king of lab. At least that's what Angela claimed he did when things were quiet in the lab. Brennan never really took the time to investigate for herself.

Temperance Brennan loved working with Booth solving crimes. She had to admit, however, that she savored any opportunity to spend time working in modular skeleton storage. Her job had two facets. One was solving crimes, giving families the resolution they longed for. The other facet was less personal and more mysterious – identifying remains that no one else in the world could identify. She didn't get to work on these remains often enough so she seized any opportunity. That's why she loved the day after Thanksgiving. She could delve into a skeleton or ten and lose herself in the mystery.

That particular day, she pulled the skeleton of a teenager who was found in a field just outside Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, just over a decade ago. Initial dating on the remains and soil samples dated skeleton to the Civil War era. Her job was not to identify the skeleton, even though that might be possible. It was to authenticate the remains as a soldier in the war. Her determination would mean burial in a military cemetery with honors or burial in a public cemetery as a no one. She took her job very seriously. This man, she'd already determined that he was between the ages of 16 and 20, deserved her undivided attention. She was thankful she found the day to give him that.

**

On the other side of the lab, Jack Hodgins was completely engrossed in why he loved the day after Thanksgiving: experimentation. The old phrase, 'When the cat's away, the mice will play,' was his motto on this day every year. He loved having free reign of the lab. He could do whatever he wanted and as long as the damages were minimal he could have everything back to normal by the time everyone else walked through the sliding doors come Monday morning. He had the means to take care of anything except for major structural damages.

Recently, a murder investigation had Hodgins' interest captivated. It was a relatively cold case that Booth had picked up. Brennan identified cause of death very quickly. It was a massive blow to the chest by a relatively hard, circular object. They knew what happened but they didn't know how it happened. The entomologist wished he had Zack to help him with this one. He was amazing at determining how things like this happened but asking him for help was out of the question. Hodgins would be forced to figure it out on his own. He was a smart man, maybe not a Savant like Zack, but still smart.

Hodgins lost himself in building a launcher for hockey pucks. He had figured out the force and velocity required to do the damage to the victim's chest and a hockey puck seemed to be similar to the size, and shape of the mold of the injury Brennan made almost a week earlier.

He worked to weld some sheets of aluminum together and modified a motor to launch the pucks, two at a time, from the catwalk to a target he set up close to the entrance to the Ookie Room. He set up an automatic radar detector and linked it to his laptop so that he didn't have to traverse the stairs to read the display after each launch. He already set the computer to automatically run the calculation and he was so close to getting the velocity exactly correct. He'd been thankful for the lack of interruptions. Not only did it allow him to completely geek out over his contraption, it would minimize the collateral damage. He'd never quite recovered from hitting Angela in the head with that turkey in the spring. Because of that event he opted to limit his risky experiments and keep others safe.

He knew he was close so he took his wrench and adjusted the spring to add just a little more power behind the launch. He quickly flipped lowered his safety glasses and pulled the lever launching the two pucks toward the target.

At the very moment he pulled the lever, he realized something he failed to do earlier. He didn't lock the door at the back of the lab close to the Ookie Room.

"Oh no," he yelped as he realized that the only course of action he could take was to alert the person coming through the door. There was really no time to stop it. He only hoped he could get his message across.

He jumped into action and yelled from the platform, "Stand back!" he then realized who entered through the door. "Dr. Brennan?" he knew she was at the lab, somewhere but hadn't seen here since 7 am when he saw her head to limbo using her REGULAR route down the stairs near her office.

"Dr. Hodgins?" was all she managed to get out before the impact.

**

"Booth!" he uttered in typical fashion as he flipped open his phone. He was currently headed toward the rink with his Pops. He hated taking calls but with his job you never knew what would happen. If it was just a new case he'd just bump it to the forensic techs and start on it Saturday night after he dropped Pops back off at the assisted living. Sure, those techs weren't as good as Bones and catching everyone from the scene was a pain but he wouldn't give up his time with Pops for anything.

He listened for just a second. "What? Where?" he stammered and his voice conveyed obvious concern.

Hank immediately whipped his head toward his grandson and waited until he flipped his phone closed. "Seeley, what happened?" he asked.

"Pops, I'm sorry. Going to have to detour, maybe I can get someone to give you a ride to the game," he turned around immediately and flipped on his siren. He didn't use it much, but this was an emergency.

Hank was quite concerned. What would make his grandson react this way? "Seeley, damn it, you need to tell me what happened."

Booth ran his hand over his face. He was terrified. "It's Bones. Apparently there was an accident at the lab," he let out a huge breath. "She's at DC General and I'm not sure if it's serious or not."

Hank now knew why his grandson was so beside himself. He was the same way when the love of his life was hurt. It didn't happen often. Generally speaking, he was a good protector but there were times when he wasn't there and things happened. He always held himself responsible for those things and beat himself up over it. If there was one trait he wished he hadn't passed on to Seeley it would be that. His grandson always had the tendency to hold himself responsible for events that were out of his control.

His son, on the other hand, had not inherited that trait. He never took ownership for his mistakes. There were always excuses. Jared was somewhere in the middle of the two of them. He seemed to take ownership for some things if the consequences didn't inconvenience him. If, however, the consequences meant pain, Jared blamed someone or something else. Those boys were polar opposites in Hank's opinion. Jared was egocentric and Seeley carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. Each side brought with it a set of problems but Hank knew that for Seeley those attributes meant that he would love, and love deeply forever. He was confident that the person who would receive that love was Temperance Brennan. He just hoped his grandson would eventually admit it and tell her. Hell, if he didn't do it soon, Hank figured he might as well tell her for his grandson.

Those thoughts flew through the elder Booth's mind quickly and he knew he had to talk to his grandson if for nothing else, to keep him calm and keep him from rolling the vehicle over.

"Who called you?" he asked. It was a very direct question.

"Her dad," Booth spoke sharply. He wasn't mad at Hank but his voice just displayed his displeasure with the current situation. "He and Hodgins are at the emergency room with her. He said . . . " He had trouble forcing the words out. "He said it knocked her out for a few minutes and that she was pretty confused when she came to," Booth went on in spite of his desire to shed a few tears. "He . . . Ummm ... He said they were going to rush her up for a cat scan right away"

"Seeley, she's got ovaries of steel. I'm sure she'll be fine," Hank attempted to console his son. He didn't know that for sure but parents always did their best to protect their children.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N - Alright guys, here is chapter 2 of this fic. I hope you enjoy it. I have officially decided that this will be a three part fic (unless I change my mind). I should finish it up fairly ****quickly. I am planning on getting a good amount of writing done this week since things are slowing down for the holidays.**

**I appreciate all of the reviews and comments on the previous chapter. I am constantly amazed that people find my writing entertaining. I'm not complaining I just never expected to have such good comments. **

**I hope you enjoy this chapter. It was a lot of fun to write. I think it would be great fun to have something like this on the show. I hope I have kept everyone in character and didn't take too much creative liberty. I have always wanted to know more about their childhoods so I made a few stretches to fill in some blanks. Please continue to let me know what you think. **

**Thanks so much to MickeyBoggs for proof reading and to Thnx4theGum and StefJunkiecat for the idea help. You guys are great.**

**Thanks for reading everyone. Enjoy!!**

Disclaimer - I do not own Bones.

Chapter 2

The rest of the ride to the hospital was quiet. Neither of the Booth men knew what to say. Booth parked the car and hopped out. Hank was thankful he'd done all that walking around the retirement home with Celia. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to keep up with his grandson.

Just as Booth began to exit the car, his grandfather stopped him. He had to tell his grandson a thing or two. He'd been holding it in long enough. "Seeley," he said.

Booth stopped and snapped out of his trance. He turned to face the man who had raised him since his dad beat him one too many times. "What is it, Pops?" he asked. He hoped his voice didn't indicate too much frustration. He loved his grandfather but the only thing on his mind at the moment was his partner and any additional second away from her side was too much.

"Seeley, I know you said you could take care of your own love life, but it's obvious you can't," he began.

Booth was immediately frustrated at the conversation. He knew he loved her but he couldn't lose her and trying to pursue more than a partner relationship with her could be more than she could handle. She might run. He didn't know if he was willing to take the risk. After all, in his opinion, a work relationship with Bones was much better than no Bones at all. "Pops," he said after a momentary pause in conversation. "She's not interested in that kind of relationship with me. She doesn't even believe in marriage or family or anything. We're just way too different," he sighed.

"That's a pile of crock, Seeley, and you know it," Hank took on a very authoritarian tone. "She loves you. I've seen how she looks at you," he went on. "I haven't seen a woman look at a man that way since the first time I laid eyes on your grandmother," he paused and waited for his grandson to speak.

The generally strong FBI Agent couldn't say a word. He felt a lump forming in his throat. He could barely even breathe. He'd been accused of loving Temperance Brennan before but never by his grandfather, never by someone who knew him better than he knew himself. For some reason, this time, it seemed more real. It seemed true. All he could do was give Pops a small shrug.

"Uh huh," Hank knew he had busted his grandson. He was rarely rendered speechless. "Now, listen to me, Seeley. You need her and she needs you. Just grow a set and tell her you love her or I'm going to do it for you," he said. "She'll listen to me. We're tight."

Booth let out another long, exasperated sigh. "I'll think about it, Pops. I just need to check on her now. I need to make sure she's okay," he said.

Hank gave him a simple nod and they left the car to make the short walk to the waiting room in silence.

***

After quickly asking at the desk where to find his partner, Booth flew to ER room 10. He immediately noticed Max and Hodgins. "What the hell happened?" he practically screamed.

Hodgins practically visibly shuddered as those words left Booth's mouth. "Ummm, well I, I was doing an experiment and she ummm, she walked through the wrong door," he said. He wasn't sure that he had ever been that as afraid of Booth as he was at that very moment.

"You damned squints," Booth's tone was fierce. "You will never learn. Give me one reason why I shouldn't pull out my gun and shoot you right now, Hodgins. You hurt her. I can't believe that you hurt her." He continued to ramble on spouting our rhetorical questions for a few more seconds and then asked the softer question that he actually expected an answer to,. "Is she okay?"

Max spoke for the now terrified Hodgins. "I think she'll be fine. She has a nasty black eye and may need a stitch or two under it. She was fussing at the nurse when she was trying to get her vitals a few minutes ago," he explained. "She must have one hell of a headache though. One of the pucks hit her square in the forehead and she hit her head on the floor when the fell." He cut his eyes toward Hodgins. "Where'd you get a spring that would pack that much of a punch?" he asked. He was concerned about his daughter but he was a scientist and couldn't resist a fun contraption.

As the younger Booth was still ranting at Hodgins, Hank took the opportunity to introduce himself to the man who must have been Brennan's dad. "Hank Booth," he said. "Seeley is my grandson," he finished and reached out to shake to gentleman's hand.

"Max Keenan," he said and took his hand in a strong handshake. He was immediately trusting of Hank when he realized that they shared the strong handshake technique of intimidation. "I'm Tempe's dad. It's nice to meet you. That was as far as the conversation went since the younger Booth's actions interrupted them.

Even though he wanted to inflict major pain on Hodgins for hurting the woman he obviously loved, he didn't. He simply made a fist and made a strong contact with the hard, cold wall nearest him. Hodgins studied the angry agent and feared his next movement. Thankfully, just as their eyes met, a nurse wheeled Brennan back through the door.

"Bones," he said as he instinctively jumped up and positioned himself in front of the wheelchair she currently occupied. "Are you okay?" he asked as he studied her appearance.

He certainly didn't like what he saw. She was very pale, her eyes were weak, and it seemed that holding an ice pack over her eye was quickly exhausting any energy she had. "I'm fine, Booth," she claimed.

He huffed immediately. "Yeah, Bones, fine is exactly what I get from looking at you," sarcasm flowed through every syllable. He was still kneeling in front of her. His tone may have conveyed frustration, but his actions were gentle, comforting. He gently placed his hand on top of her right one that was holding the ice pack in place. "Let me see," he said as he slowly pulled her hand down. His emotions burned at what he saw. His instinct was to yell but he stifled the urge and gently rubbed his thumb over the swollen area just below her eye. "Oh, Bones," he said. He would say that her eye looked awful, but it wasn't her eye, it was the area around it. Her eye, or what he could see of it through the swelling, was the same crystal blue that he always loved. The area around it was turning black and he figured she'd be sporting a nice shiner for several days. There was also a nasty, deep cut positioned on the center of the cheek bone just below her eye. He figured whatever the hell Hodgins hit her with hit her hard enough to open the skin. .

After concentrating on her eye for just a few seconds he shifted his attention to her forehead. He could see a very large, very nasty bruise on top of a knot just south of her hairline. He figured that some of it extended into the hairline. He swept a few loose strands of hair away and rubbed his thumb over the area just as he had her eye. This time, however, she winced at the slight touch. "I'm sorry, Bones," he said.

"I'm fine," Brennan said once again. "The area is slightly tender. I would need to do some calculations, but I would assume that area received the largest force at impact." She tried to remain clinical but the pain was still there so she shut her eyes against the pain.

He was about to ask her about her pain when a nurse walked into the room. "Dr. Brennan," she said. "Let's get you back into the bed. You really need to be resting at the moment. Loss of consciousness is a serious problem."

Booth's eyes automatically cut to his partner. She spoke first and attempted to keep her tone sharp. "By my estimation, I was only unconscious for around 4 minutes. It's not a major event," she directed her now open eyes to Booth. "I only regurgitated one time and the nausea is tolerable," she was rambling about all of the reasons why she was fine. Of course, she'd never truly admit that her head felt like it might explode and keeping the remaining contents of digestive tract inside might be more effort than it was worth. She took a deep breath and glanced at her partner, adding a final "I'm fine," for good measure.

"Bones, seriously! You have a head injury, you look like hell, and you are bleeding. How can you say you are fine?" he let out a frustrated sigh and began to pace slightly in the small, cramped room. "You are the only person I know who starts a stop watch when you pass out! Just get in the damned bed and rest for 5 minutes, okay!" he didn't quite yell but his tone was resolute.

She simply nodded and remained seated in the wheelchair. She could have argued with him that she didn't actually use a stop watch. Even if she had wanted to, she knew she wasn't very coherent until after they reached the hospital. She wouldn't admit that, though. It would show weakness. She also had no intention of admitting that the room was spinning and she didn't have the energy to stand up and make the three steps to the bed.

Thankfully, the nurse spoke. "Since you're her overprotective boyfriend, give me a hand getting her back into bed. I'm sure that bump on her noggin is making her a bit dizzy."

Brennan breathed a sigh of relief as she felt Booth's strong arm wrap under her own ones that currently felt like jelly. He held her tightly as he stood and practically carried her to the bed. "Are you cold?" he asked as she shivered slightly.

She nodded and he covered her with a blanket. She was kind of cold but that's not why she shivered. She still couldn't quite stifle her physical reactions when Booth touched her. "Thanks," she said.

The nurse made a few recordings in the chart. "The doctor should be back with all of your results shortly," she said. "This should help with your pain," she extended a small paper cup containing two pills to Brennan. She immediately emptied the contents of the cup into her mouth and grabbed the cup of water. She took a large sip and let her head fall back to the pillow.

Booth wasn't quite sure what to do at that moment. He decided to act as a loved one. He pulled up the uncomfortable, plastic chair next to her bed, plopped into it, and grabbed her hand between his own. "Get some rest, Bones," he spoke gently. "I'll be here when you wake up."

The three observers in the room took the opportunity to make their exits. "I'm . . . I'm going to head back to the lab," Hodgins was still nervous as he spoke. "I need to clean some things up and Cam . . . Cam probably needs to know what happened," he finished.

Booth barely even looked at him. He cut his eyes over just long enough to acknowledge the words but quickly focused them back on his Bones. He saw a slight grimace make its way to her face despite her closed eyes. "What's wrong, Bones?" he asked.

"My zygomatic arch is swelling and due to the increased blood flow along with the contusion, it is throbbing quite incessantly," she said while keeping her eyes closed against the pain.

"Here," he said and placed the ice pack gently back on her cheek. "I'll hold it for you. Just rest, Bones."

She drew in a quick breath but never opened her eyes.

Max and Hank just looked at each other. They seemed like intruders. Their children definitely deserved some alone time. Hank spoke first. "You think they have a decent cup of coffee in this place or have the removed all the damned caffeine like all the other health nuts in the world?" he looked at Max when he spoke.

Max just laughed. "There's a coffee shop over by the elevators. Let's go see what we can find."

With that, the two left the couple to their own intimate moments and headed out in search of a non-crappy cup of coffee.

***

It was relatively quiet between the two men for a few minutes. They each grabbed a cup of coffee before sitting in a small alcove overlooking a small fountain area.

Max broke the silence. "You know, my Tempe only left Booth's room for a few minutes when he was in that coma and every time she did, I found her right here."

Hank cut his eyes toward Max. "The nerve of that boy. He didn't even tell me he had a brain tumor until a month after his surgery," he said in a frustrated tone. "Thought I raised him better than that, but he's been surprising me a lot lately," he went on. "His excuse was that he didn't want to worry me since I'd been having some heart problems. Ended up having bypass and when he came to visit me, he was practically bald and had a huge scar on his hairline. I even had to ask him where the hell it came from."

Max just laughed. "I know what you mean. Tempe didn't tell me either. I found out from one of her interns when I showed up for work the day after," he said as he took a swallow.

"Kids...They're damn frustrating. You just think it gets better when they move out," Hank ranted. "But they just keep pulling stuff out of their damned hats. Why can't they just be predictable like we were at their ages?"

Max didn't even want to elaborate but couldn't leave that one alone. "Let's just say that I'm glad Tempe isn't as _predictable _as I was at her age," he said. He was just thankful that she was an upstanding citizen and not out robbing banks. He wasn't proud of the things he had done-that was for sure. There were only a few crimes he had committed that he wasn't ashamed of and all of those involved protecting his family. He'd kill again if it took it in order to make sure they were okay.

Hank looked at the man seated near him. He knew there was something else there. He had regrets in his heart. "Well, in my opinion, Temperance turned out okay. She's brilliant, beautiful, wealthy, and . . . did I say beautiful?" Finding crystal clear blue eyes beautiful must have been a Booth family trait. _'If she was 50 years younger,'_ Hank thought to himself. _'I'd give Seeley a run for his money.'_

Max laughed a little. "She is beautiful, just like her mother," he said. "Booth didn't turn out too badly himself," he went on. "Although, I did have to ask him if he was gay once," he laughed as he recalled the events of that day. "I couldn't understand why a man with as much testosterone as Booth didn't just fall head over heels for my baby girl."

Hank's eyes lit up a little as Max said that. Maybe they were a lot alike. "I had to ask him the same thing myself," he explained. "I know I taught him to see what was right in front of his face," he shook his head. "Clearly, they are both wearing some kind of blinders or something."

Max sighed loudly as he nodded at Booth's grandfather. "Which one of them will figure it out first?" he asked. "My bet's on your boy. My Tempe is too damned stubborn to admit it without prodding."

"Well, if he knows what's good for him, he'll hurry up," he said. "But you know, Seeley isn't exactly easy going himself," Hank said. "That boy gets something in his head and then you can't change his mind," he went on. "Problem is, he usually gets stubborn when it comes to protecting other people, usually Jared," he took a large sip of coffee. "Seeley was taking the beatings for Jared for about 3 years after their mother died. Seeley was so damned stubborn. He refused to let a little beating tear his family apart," he almost teared up at the thought. "He figured if he could just go ahead and take the beatings for both of them, they'd get to stay at home with their dad."

Max just looked at Hank. He was speechless. Booth was a good man. He always assumed he'd had a relatively uneventful childhood. Max just nodded that he understood and Hank continued.

"Anyway, Jared was off and on. Sometimes he was all heart and sometimes he was nothing but selfish," he explained. "The last beating Seeley took was Jared's fault. I'm not exactly sure what happened, even to this day, but their dad, my son had been drinking while they were at school and Jared was rather hyped up when they got home. He was 9 and Seeley was 14," he sighed. "They came in and Jared wouldn't stop bouncing the basketball in the house. Seeley told him to stop once he realized their dad was drunk. Jared didn't stop. That boy never took correction well. He told Seeley that he wasn't his father and could do what he wanted to do. He gave the ball one big, strong bounce and it hit something on the floor and flew over the couch. It knocked over their dad's good scotch," he had to pause for a moment what happened next still sent shivers down Hank's spine even though it happened 20 years earlier.

Max looked at the man. Clearly that story was still a sensitive topic for him. He could probably equate it to that quick decision to leave his son and daughter. They were in a store looking at gifts for the kids. He and his wife were bickering over appropriate gifts. They couldn't decide if they should get their daughter all educational items which they knew she would love or to try and get her into some of the more mainstream things that the new CD players that were just made available.

Max was careful not to get too lost in his own thoughts that he missed what Hank was saying. He needed to stay focused on Booth's history if he wanted to know how to best help his daughter.

Hank went on. "I wish their dad would have already passed out from the drinking. It would have been easier. He must have just been sleeping. Jared told me he popped up and started yelling to know who had knocked over his good stuff," the older man's voice shook slightly as he talked. It was clearly a mix of anger, sadness and regret. "Apparently, Seeley said he did it and told Jared to run," he took a break for a second to take a sip of coffee.

After a few seconds of needed silence, Hank managed to finish the story. "I'm not sure what all went on, but I guess it was half an hour later that Jared called me," he explained. "He'd seen his dad beat Seeley before but this time it was different and Jared knew it. I ran over and found my son, my own flesh and blood beating my grandson." A few tears spilled out as he spoke. "I pulled him off of Seeley, had some words with my son, and loaded them in the car. Funny thing is, Seeley was barely coherent but he asked if Jared was okay as I loaded him into my car. I knew that day what can of man he would grow up to be," he finished.

"He is a good man," Max said, touched that he had seen a small portion of Booth's life. "I've done a lot of things that I'm not proud of. I was afraid that Tempe would never recover from the damage I did to her," he decided to share a little bit of his own. "When her mother and I left," he spoke assuming Hank had at least heard portions of the story, "I had a buddy of mine send any articles about her to a PO Box I set up," he explained. "There was this . . . this picture of her, my baby. Her eyes, she has these eyes that tell you so much about her and the look in her eyes was disturbing. I knew I had ruined her forever."

He sighed a little and shot a glance at Hank who was obviously as good a listener as his grandson. "I kept up with her until she quit showing up in the news. The mentions of our disappearance stopped and I found out later she had been transferred out of the Chicago area. I didn't hear anything else from her until she published that first book. I worried about her every day. I just prayed she was okay and that she hadn't been killed or something. I knew she was too damned stubborn to get herself in trouble with drugs or anything," he smiled a little when thinking about his stubborn daughter. "I was so glad when I saw that book on the shelf," he paused. He was so proud of his daughter. All of her accomplishments, everything that she was, she'd fought for. He knew she was strong as a child but he never dreamed she'd be that strong.

"The next time I saw her was about 3 years ago and she was with Booth. At that moment, I realized that she'd found someone who would never leave her or hurt her," he smiled as he thought about the first time he saw his daughter look at Booth. "I just hoped she'd let him take care of her. I still hope for that," he said.

Hank was glad Max had shared the story. He knew Temperance was strong and had overcome much. His grandson deserved a strong woman who could support him when he needed it. "I want that for Seeley too," he said.

"If the two of them know what's good for them, they'll get this show on the road. I'd like to have grandkids before I need Depends and a power scooter," Max kidded.

Hank's eyes lit up at the joke. "I only need one of those two right now," he joked. "I'm not telling you which one," he said. Of course he was kidding but he couldn't let the opportunity pass him by.

Max shot him a questioning glance before coming to the conclusion that he was joking and breaking out into laughter.

After a few minutes of laughter, Max checked his watch. "We'd better go check and make sure Tempe hasn't given him a shiner for trying to help her with her straw or something," he said.

"Yeah," Hank answered. "Seeley told me she carries quite the right hook."

"That's an understatement," Max said as the pair stood and headed back toward the emergency room.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N - Okay, so I lied just a little bit but not on purpose. This fic will now be 4 chapters long. I intended to combine this chap and chap 4 and end. I, however, had a crazy idea for this chap so now it's its own entity. Hope you guys will like it. It is shorter than my norm but I found this was a good stopping point.**

**Just a little reminder that this fic will turn out to make everyone happy. It is about Max and Hank but what's a good Bones fic without a little Brennan / Booth angst?**

**Thank you all so much for the reviews of the previous chapter and I hope you like this one just as much. I am trying to stay true to Bones and true to character. Please continue to let me know what you think - good or bad. I appreciate all the feedback I can get.**

**Thanks so much to MickeyBoggs for lending me her proofing skills and to StefJunkiecat and DVApples for letting me bounce ideas around. You ladies rock.**

**Enjoy and have a happy end of 2009!!**

Disclaimer - I am in no way associated with Bones or the characters.

Chapter 3

Temperance Brennan would never admit how comfortable she was when her partner, Seeley Booth, was with her, his hedge of protection making sure that she was safe. Currently, he was holding the ice pack on her face with one hand and her hand with his other. For some reason, her pain had diminished since she had climbed back into the hospital bed. She attributed the welcome relief to the fact that she was no longer being moved around in a wheelchair or poked and prodded by nurses and technicians.

Any observer would clearly see, however, that the newly found comfort was from one source only, her partner. She could blame it on endorphins or rest or whatever she wanted, but Seeley Booth could do for her things that no medication or neurotransmitter could. He brought her peace and comfort and she couldn't prevent sleep from enveloping her now that he was there.

Booth sat with her. He held her hand, held the ice pack on her face, and gently massaged her hand with his thumb. It felt natural. It felt right. After a few minutes, he looked up and saw that she was sleeping. The ice pack he was holding on her face was beginning to warm so he pulled it down to again expose her bruised face. It hurt him that she hurt. _'I should have shot Hodgins when I had the chance,' _he thought to himself.

In his opinion, the timing of this injury couldn't have been worse. He had Hank to worry about. He couldn't drop everything and stay with her like he would normally be able to do. He rubbed his now free hand over his face out of frustration. '_I could probably talk Pops into going to her house, but Bones probably won't get much rest with him there,'_ he sighed. He knew at that moment that he'd have to trust her to the care of someone else. He didn't want to but he wouldn't have a choice. He looked over at her and found she had fallen into deep sleep. There was still no sign of Max or Hank. Booth just hoped they were staying out of trouble. He figured no news was good news so he flipped on the television, quickly muting it so he wouldn't disturb her. He flipped around and landed on ESPN. He turned on the subtitles and relaxed a little. He was still rubbing circles on the top of her hand. He pretended to pay attention to the television but mostly he just stared at his partner.

***

"_Dr. Brennan," Zack said. "I laid the skeleton out anatomically for you. It's in the Bone Room," he said as he handed her a folder. She couldn't help but notice the grotesque scars on her assistant's hands. For some reason, they made her nervous. She knew she should remember where they came from but for some reason, the details were fuzzy. As a matter of fact, everything seemed fuzzy. She couldn't be certain of what day it was, what she had been working on, or what time of day it was. _

_Despite her obvious confusion, she headed toward the Bone Room. _

_As she walked, she realized that something was different. The normal shininess of the lab was dull, almost foggy. Normally, when she walked from her office to other portions of the lab, she could hear her heels clicking on the polished floors. This time, however, she heard nothing. She looked down to see that she was only wearing a simple white pair of socks. Her clothes were plain, simple not what she was use to wearing. There were no buttons and no clunky jewelry. Her clothing selection vaguely resembled a hospital gown but she couldn't be sure. She found it quite odd but due to the fogginess of her mind, she didn't allow the abnormality to register. _

_She entered the Bone Room and suddenly the lights went out. Everything faded into the darkness except for the lighted table and the folder Zack handed her. For some reason, nothing mattered but the work before her. She felt a slight pain in her head as she leaned down to pick up the folder but it seemed trivial. It wouldn't stop her from working. She was Temperance Brennan. She had a job to do and a little pain would never stop her from doing that job._

_She reached down and picked up the folder. It was labeled very simply with only three letters. SJB. What could that mean? She had no idea what to think. For some reason it seemed oddly familiar but she couldn't quite put her finger on why. Was this a person she was supposed to know? She shook her head to clear some of the fog and dismissed it. She couldn't know this person. It was her job to identify the remains. Why would they send a set of already identified remains to her? It would be futile. _

_She picked up the skull. She always started with the skull. She looked at the high cheek bones, square chin, and pronounced supraorbital notch. Whoever this was a prime example of an alpha male. He must have been an excellent breeder. After that, something caught her attention. A molar, a missing molar, it was very strange, such an excellent example of a skull missing a molar. She could postulate that it would have been replaced by a cosmetic dentist at some point. The skull wasn't from an old skeleton. This person hadn't been dead long at all._

_She turned the skull around, and she noticed a small depression at the external occipital protuberance. It certainly wasn't a major defect and the unskilled eye would have missed it completely. She'd seen similar injuries many times and she knew most likely it was the result of a fall in which the person banged their head on a hard surface. It would result in a moderate concussion but the person would have been fine in a matter of days._

_She sighed in effort to clear the disturbing feeling from her head. These injuries seemed all too real. It was as if she should know exactly who this person was. She knew, however, that you couldn't determine identity based on injuries alone unless you had X-rays or an exemplar for comparison. She cleared her thoughts and pushed forward._

_She placed the skull back onto the table and moved down the remainder of the axial skeleton. She examined each of the spinal bones. All of them were normal until she reached the lumbar region. It was clear this person had trouble with their discs as evidenced by portions of the bodies of two of the vertebrae that had obviously rubbed against each other. The person would have most certainly experienced moderate to severe back pain with over-exertion or stress._

_Next she moved to the ribs. The person had experienced multiple fractures throughout their lifetime. Some of which seemed to come from a traumatic blow to the chest and some seemed to come from shielding someone. At that point, she could feel her heart rate begin to increase but she couldn't determine why. She'd examined thousands of skeletons in her lifetime and simple injuries never disturbed her like this. She pressed on._

_She moved to the clavicles. On the right side, it was clear this person had experienced a greenstick fracture at about the same time as some of the rib fractures. She began to study it more when something clearly knocked the wind out of her – a bullet graze. This person, this man had been shot in the chest. The anterior surface of the 2__nd__ rib had a curved indention. She looked at the scapula. There was a bullet lodged in it, a bullet that shouldn't be there. It would have caused the person great pain but wouldn't have been lethal. He would have recovered just fine. Despite the fact that the injury wouldn't have been lethal, it still knocked the breath out of her. She had to grab onto the table to stabilize herself. Her heart rate continued to increase, she couldn't get control of her own body but she moved on._

_She had completed her examination of the axial skeleton and despite her unexplainable psychosomatic response to the injuries she moved to the appendicular skeleton. She checked over the humerus bones from each arm. She could tell from the bumpy texture of the bones that this person, this male, would have had excellent musculature. He had an above average amount of points of muscle attachment and the bones were immaculate, pristine. She moved to the bones of the forearm. Examining all four of them, she saw that they, like the humerus bones, were not damaged. _

_She moved on to the hands. She found nothing highly abnormal. Just a simple fracture of two of his carpals. It was a common injury that many people experience. As she continued to study each of the small bones, she did notice that the they were very large. This person had extremely large hands. He must have been quite strong and quite dexterous. She wondered what kind of things he did with his hands. Did he use them for good or did he use them to harm others. For some reason, she felt that this man was nothing but good. He would have had to be. He looked as though he was made of very, very good stuff._

_She moved on through the bones of the lower extremities and found very little. The legs were those of a strong man. They showed years of wear and activity but no real damage. She moved to the feet and when she did she knew it immediately. She was examining the bones of her partner, Seeley Joseph Booth. She couldn't handle it. Her head began to pound and the world around her began to grow black. It was all she could do to emit a small yelp as she crashed to the floor. She wasn't expecting the floor to fall with her as the blackness enveloped her. She simply continued to fall with no one there to catch her._

_***_

_To Be Continued_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N - Well, I changed my mind, AGAIN. There will be one more chapter in this fic. I wanted to resolve the whole dream thing before bring Max and Hank back into the picture. Hopefully this chapter will give you a little bit of what you want. **

**Thanks so much for the reviews for the last chapter. I appreciate each one of them and hope you will all continue to let me know what you think.**

**As usual, thanks to MickeyBoggs for proof reading and to StefJunkiecat, DVApples, and Thnx4theGum for aiming me in the right direction. Also, thanks to CockySocks on Twitter for amusing me and hounding me to get the chap done.**

**I hope you guys enjoy this and that I managed to keep everyone in character or at least close to it.**

**Have a great first day of 2010.**

_Disclaimer - I am not associated with the television show Bones in any shape, form, or fashion._

Chapter 4

'_Just like Bones,' _Booth thought to himself. '_I'd imagine she is the only person on the face of the earth to mumble the names of bones in her sleep.'_ He'd noticed that over the last few moments her sleep had grown less peaceful and more fitful. She'd only been asleep for about 30 minutes when she began to mumble names of bones that Booth couldn't quite recognize. At first it was amusing but as she seemed to become agitated, he became worried. He did what he could to comfort her without waking her up. She needed to rest and she didn't seem to be in pain so he let her sleep.

He'd had enough, though, when she gasped for air as if someone had just delivered a blow to her stomach. After that, her breathing became rapid. He was worried that something was wrong so he pressed the call button.

A nurse entered just a few minutes later. She checked her breathing and heart rate and she seemed to calm slightly. "She'll be fine," the kind nurse explained. "Looks like she's just having a dream. It's common with concussions and medication."

Booth just rolled his eyes a little. He knew better than most how the brain can create scenarios that aren't really real and get the better of a person from time to time. He just nodded and turned his attention back to Brennan. He sat on the edge of her bed. She was beginning to sweat slightly so he grabbed the washcloth from the side table and used it to wipe her brow. He wasn't sure why she'd be sweating. He just hoped it wasn't because she was in more pain than she'd let on earlier.

He sat back for a few minutes until she let out an intense yelp. It wasn't one of pain, he could tell. It was one of fear. She was having a nightmare.

Gently, he placed his hands on her upper arms and tried to still her. "Bones," he called. "Come on, Bones. Wake up."

Still, she continued to thrash. He had to get her to wake up. He shook her gently and opted to use her given name. "Temperance, come on baby, wake up," he said. He knew he used the word baby. He meant it and knew that if nothing else came of it, at least the archaic term would make her angry enough to wake up.

His efforts were fruitless however, she continued to be distressed and he looked to her eyes and saw that there were tears falling down her face.

That was it, he'd seen enough. He did what felt natural. He reached over, hit the nurse call button and then pulled her toward him. He enveloped her in a clearly non-guy hug. He could smell her hair and her breath on his neck. He spoke softly while rubbing circles on her back. "Bones, wake up, baby," he whispered.

He could tell that she wasn't fully awake and not out of the dreamlike state but she calmed slightly. He continued to rub her back and whisper simple phrases into her ear. In just a few minutes, he could feel the shoulder of his shirt becoming wet. She was crying on his shoulder. The moisture nearly ripped his heart out. "Bones," he said as he pushed her up slightly. He had to wake her. "Come on, I'm here. You're okay. I've got you," he continued. He supported her body with one of his strong hands and cupped her face with the other using his thumb to wipe away a few of the remaining tears.

In just a few seconds, he was met with a pair of very blue but very red eyes. "Hi," he said. He expected her to begin to cover her emotional tracks in effort to put her walls back up. What she did, however, completely shocked him.

"Booth?" she uttered questioningly as if she never expected to see him again and practically threw herself back into his arms, burying her head back into the crook of his neck. She was shaking and didn't know what else to do.

He wrapped her back up in his strong arms. He rocked her gently and placed several kisses into her hair. They stayed like that for a few minutes until her shaking began to recede. Whatever this dream was, it had terrified her. "Hey," he said again. "You're okay."

With his last reassurance, she nodded and again met his gaze. "Bones," he spoke gently. He didn't want to startle her. "You probably need to lie back down," he flashed her one of his simple smiles. "You want me to get you a drink?" he finished.

Brennan nodded, answering two questions at the same time. She hadn't noticed before while she was in the safety of his arms, but her throat was so dry and her head was swimming. '_Concussion,'_ she thought to herself, '_Definitely a concussion.'_ Her throat was probably just dry, she surmised, from the sleeping and the crying.

Before she even realized it, Booth was seated back on her bed holding a small cup with at straw in it. '_I'm not an invalid,' _she thought to herself. Her instinct was to fight him and tell him that she could handle it, but after the dream she'd just experienced, she decided to enjoy the few moments of care that he would give her. She sat back against the harsh hospital pillow and closed her eyes. She had to think.

Honestly, the dream had shaken her to the core. She certainly wasn't a fan of psychology but she was sure that there was some underlying meaning to her subconscious manufacturing such a scenario. Booth had dreamed, just a few months earlier, that they were married. Since he was cleared for work, they hadn't talked much about it. She was pretty sure that he had dismissed it as something that was as crazy as seeing Stewie Griffin in the interrogation room.

Besides, her dream seemed to directly invalidate anything that Booth's dream, or her book for that matter, stated. In her dream, she was alone and probably alone forever. It was very disheartening. '_You know what Temperance,_' she again became lost in her thoughts. '_You've been alone for17 years. You can handle another 40 or 50.' _ She let out a very long sigh. She missed someone being there to watch her every move. She remembered the time that she told Angela that just after Kenton almost shot her. Since then, and even before, Booth had watched out for her. Her dream, however, told her that it too would be temporary. She wanted to chastise herself for reading too much into dreams, but for some reason, she knew this one had to mean something.

Just as she was thinking about how she was alone, the ever familiar voice snapped her out of her reverie. "Bones. . . you okay?" he asked with concern etched on every feature of his face. He had heard her sigh.

She looked him in the eyes and gave one simple nod. Normally, she was in full control of her emotions but for some reason, that exact moment was different. When she gave the nod, her own mind betrayed her and some tears began to trickle down her already tear-stained cheeks.

He chose his actions carefully. He didn't want to push her so that she would be able to build a dam before she let it all out. He simply grabbed one of her hands and took it into his own. After a few seconds, the tears stopped. He flashed his signature, cheeky grin and said, "You want to talk about it?" He hoped that leaving the question kind of vague would allow her to talk about whatever she wanted. He knew she'd had a dream, a nightmare, but he didn't have to know about it. He only needed to know that she was alright. That would always be enough for him.

She took in a deep breath and answered. "No . . . I mean yes. . . I'm not sure," her tone was uncertain, almost girl like.

He took her uncertainty as an invitation to prod further. "Nightmare?" he questioned simply.

She steeled herself for a battle. She wasn't sure that she wanted him to know the content of the dream, especially since he was the subject of most of it. "Dreams are just a product of pressure on the midbrain. In my case, it could most likely be attributed to a slight increase in intracranial pressure and medication." She made her best effort at trying to sound unscathed by the dream but she knew she failed miserably.

"That's a pile of bologna and you know it, Bones," he said. His tone was slightly sharper this time.

"I don't know what that means," she said before a sharp pain shot through her frontal bone. "Ahh, my head hurts," she pulled her hand up to her forehead in effort to staunch the pain.

"Then stop overworking your brain trying to come up with an excuse for what you're feeling and feel with your heart for a second, Temperance," he said.

She closed her eyes for a brief second and decided to give it up and tell him. "I'm not sure that the exact details of what I just experienced are necessary for you to know, but I . . . umm. . . I had a dream about you," she said as a few tears sneaked out of the corner of her eyes.

As she spoke, Booth switched positions. He knew that she didn't want him looking her straight in the eye as she recalled the events but he wasn't willing to break contact. He opted to turn his body and slide closer to her on the bed. He gently placed an arm around her. He gave her a slight squeeze and was surprised when she placed her head on his shoulder, reminiscent of that night of the stairs of the Jeffersonian after Zack's betrayal. "It's alright, Bones. I'm here, just take your time," he reassured her.

He felt her nod against his shoulder and was so proud of her for the strides she had made. She'd changed so much since he first met her. She was a hard-shelled scientist back then. She didn't enjoy life, only bones and evidence. He'd seen her learn to love and learn to enjoy people for their value and not just the fact they were composed of ossified tissue. She'd taught him a thing or two as well. Five years ago he had no clue what ossified tissue was. He laughed a little at the thought and the fact that he would probably never admit that to her.

After a few more seconds she went on. "I had to . . . I had to identify your body. I didn't know it was you," she was crying as she spoke. "Logically, all of the injuries added up to you and I should have known it was you, but I didn't. I didn't look enough at the whole person to recognize it. I only looked at each bone. You were. . . You were dead, Booth and I didn't even know it was you," the tears continued to flow. "You are my closest. . ." she stammered as she spoke. "My closest friend and I couldn't even recognize you and you . . . you were gone and I was alone again." She drew a deep breath to force out her final statement. "I am just one of those people who will be alone," she was finished.

He'd heard enough at that point. "Bones, I've promised you before that I will never leave you. I'm not going to betray you," his tone was sure and confident.

She was doing her very best to avoid crying like a small child when she brought up the topic they hadn't talked about in a long time. "But . . . you died once and you can't promise that something like that won't happen again. I wouldn't imagine the FBI would fake your death a second time either, so I would assume it would be permanent the next time."

He sighed and ran his free hand over his face. "You know what, Bones. I can't promise that. No one can," he went on. "What I can promise you though," he used a crooked finger to lift her chin so that he could see her eyes. "What I can promise you is that as long as I am alive, I will be there for you. You're my family."

She wiped her eyes with the back of one of her hands. She had one last logical argument with his reasoning. "You still can't guarantee that, Booth, as much as you would like to," her voice was slightly more confident now. "You told me yourself that there is someone out there for everyone. While I feel that logic is not scientific, I know you believe it. What happens when you find that someone?" she asked as the tears began to fall again. "You won't be able to explain to your spouse how you need to bring Thai to your '_partner' _at 1:30 in the morning because I had a bad day."

He felt for her, he really did. '_Maybe Pops is right,' _he thought to himself. '_Maybe I should just tell her and tell her now.' _He knew that it was a huge risk. He could scare her off. He could ruin his chances forever. He hoped that if she responded badly he could at least manage to cover his tracks slightly like he had when he tried to tell her he loved her a few months earlier. He took a deep breath. '_Here goes nothing, Seel,' _he felt like he was a sniper again about to take a shot at his target.

"Bones," he began and hated that his voice was slightly shaky. "I can promise you that will never happen . . . I mean, it's already happened," he stammered and took another cleansing breath. "What I'm trying to say is that, I'm pretty sure that you are that person."

'_There, I said it,' _he thought to himself. '_Now I just have to wait and see if she freaks out and runs.'_

Those words dazed and confused her. She wasn't sure if it was the head injury, the medication, or if she heard him correctly. "I am what person, Booth?" she asked. "I'm your partner, yes, but I was asking what would happen when you found your partner in the romantic sense of the world."

Sometimes he found her naivety charming and sometimes he found it frustrating. He was going to have to come out and say the actual words, the 3 simple words that could mean so much. They could make her run from him or they could make her see how he really felt about her. He wasn't sure what would happen but he committed to say it. "Bones. . . Temperance, I love you. I have for a long time. At first," he was becoming more comfortable with each word. "At first, I thought it was because of that stupid tumor and that stupid dream," he said while watching her eyes to gauge her fight or flight response. "After a while, I thought those feelings would go away and that I could go back to being just your partner, but I can't, Bones . . . I just can't," he smiled at her. "I love it when you squint at things. I love it when you correct the way I say things. You frustrate the hell out of me Bones and I still love you. I don't want to spend my life with anyone else," he paused to catch his breath. "I don't know if you love me back or could ever learn to love me back and that's fine, Bones. If I can only have you as a work partner, that's okay. I'd rather have you some of the time than not at all."

"Bones, I've told you how I feel. What you choose to do now is your decision," he stated. He wanted to make it clear that the decision was hers. He wasn't going to force her to do anything. "No matter what you decide, you can be sure of this, it doesn't matter what you say. I will always be there for you. I'm your family and I'll wait on you as long as it takes." He meant what he said, he really did. Even if he couldn't be romantically involved with Temperance Brennan, just being around her would be enough to keep him content.

He was finished. He'd told her his feelings, his desires. He was filled with wonder, fear, and anticipation as he looked into her crystal clear, blue eyes. What would her reaction be?


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N – I can hopefully say that I am back! I have successfully completed another school year and I'm officially on my nice, long vacation until August. Hopefully that means churning out lost of chapters. I got distracted with some things online last summer and I am not doing that this year. I plan to write. I hope my creative juices cooperate with that desire.**

**This is the last chapter of this fic. I am excited to say that I finally finished one. I will be updating each of my others in the coming days so be on the lookout for that. I hope you guys enjoy this. I wanted to have a little fun with it while still staying in character. Please, let me know what you think.**

**Thanks so much to junkiecat, thnx4thegum, and gcatspjs for helping me along the way and to MickeyBoggs for loaning me her proofing skills. You ladies are great.**

_Disclaimer – I do not own Bones. _

Chapter 5

Tension in the air was something that was common to any room Booth and Brennan inhabited. Their constant bickering, sexual attraction, and strong willed personalities created that tension and over the years they had both learned to live with it. At this point in their partnership, they probably both loved the tension. At the moment, however, the tension was so great that it actually made the usually calm and collected Seeley Booth uncomfortable.

Just seconds earlier, he had offered his heart to his partner. He'd finally confessed the feelings that had been building in his heart since the first time he'd seen her. He would have thought that would have brought relief, but it didn't, not yet. He wouldn't be able to breathe until he had her answer.

Brennan sat quietly with a very confused, very startled look in her eyes. It was all too much for her to process, she thought. She even considered for a second that she might be imagining things or that her brain was damaged beyond a concussion. She stared at her partner and realized very quickly that she wasn't imagining anything. She wasn't good at reading people, but she could read Booth. She could see his shifting in his seat and the worried look in her eyes. His body language clearly indicated that he wasn't kidding about what he had just told her.

Her thoughts began to spiral. '_How could he love me?'_ she worried. _'He is such a good man and I am just going to hurt him. I can't give him what a good woman could give him,' _she continued to argue internally.

It was probably only a few seconds after Booth's confession when the nurse entered the room. Obviously, she must have been checking in since Booth had hit the nurse call button when Brennan began to panic after her nightmare. He inwardly cursed himself for pushing the darned button. He only hoped she wouldn't use it as a means of escape from the conversation they needed to have.

"Everything okay?" she asked rather cheerily.

Brennan was actually thankful for the slight interruption. She wanted to buy herself a little bit of time and the nurse's visit would help. She was glad, at that moment that she could actually carry on a conversation with someone while thinking about something else. As if on autopilot, she answered the nurse's question. "I was experiencing a slight over activity of the midbrain leading to a very unappealing hallucinatory event."

The nurse looked at Booth. She clearly had no idea what her patient had just said. She kept her eyes on the agent in anticipation of an answer but took Brennan's wrist to check her pulse.

Booth smiled a little and gave her the needed, layman's terms answer. "She had a pretty nasty nightmare," he explained. "She's calming down a little now, though."

"Are you hurting, honey?" the nurse asked after giving Booth a nod of understanding.

Brennan inhaled deeply. Her head was still pounding and her eye felt as if it might explode from the increase in swelling. "I'm fine," she answered through the pain. She wanted to be able to sleep but knew that she needed to talk to Booth. He at least deserved an answer from her. She just didn't know at the moment what that answer would be.

"Alright then," the nurse said as she put Brennan's hand down. "Just buzz if you need anything. The doctor should be by to give you the results of your scans soon."

"Thank you," the partners replied almost in unison.

They sat in silence for a few seconds. Brennan pushed her eyes shut tightly. She was working hard to sort through her emotions and she did not like emotions. She needed a few minutes alone. "Booth," she asked softly so she didn't intensify the pounding in her head. "Do you think you could find a soda or something for me?" she asked. "Maybe ginger ale or something," she finished.

He immediately began to worry that she was pushing him away. He couldn't be confident that if he ran to get a soda that she would still be there when he returned. That scared him. "Bones," he began to plead with her or give her some kind of out but she quickly interrupted.

She put her hand on his before speaking. "Booth," she said in a confident tone. "I'm not going anywhere. I want to talk about . . . about this but I need a few minutes and I have a really bad taste in my mouth," she explained. "Please, Booth," she said when the thought he was going to protest again.

"Just don't go anywhere, Bones," he practically begged. "Please?"

She gave him a simple nod and he rose to retrieve the drink and give her a few minutes. "I'll see if I can find Pops and Max while I'm out, too," he said. "There's no telling what kind of trouble those two are getting in to."

She shot him a pained smile and returned to her thoughts. Sully had told her several years ago that it took her a micro second to process things. She just hoped that would be the case this time. She didn't have long to make a decision and she needed it to be the right one.

Booth had to control his pace as he headed down the hospital corridor. When he was nervous, he walked very, very briskly and at the moment, he was most certainly nervous. He needed to give her some time and some space but that was hard. He wanted an answer quickly. He wasn't known for his patience and this situation was getting to him quickly.

He decided to find Pops and Max first before getting Bones the soda she asked for. He knew she liked drinks really, really chilled and if he got it now, it wouldn't be at that perfect temperature. He laughed a little at just how much he did know about her. He knew all of her little habits and quirks. He wondered just how much she knew about him. It scared him a little bit to think about it. He'd always given her a hard time about being so closed off but honestly, he was just as bad. He guarded his personal life like a military mission. He allowed no penetration of the line. She, however, had penetrated every line he had. In so many ways, they were already like a married couple. The only thing that was missing was the admission of love. Clearly, the love was already there and now half of the admission was present. He only hoped the entire puzzle would be complete quickly.

He could have very easily barreled right into Max Keenan if he hadn't heard Pops' excited "Shrimp!" just before impact.

"Where are you two headed?" he asked as he realized he was still in the hospital corridor and that they were heading in the direction of Brennan's room. He would have to stop them. _'The last thing I need is an interruption from Lemmon and Matthau,'_ he thought to himself.

Max spoke first. Clearly, the agent had failed at intimidating either of the men. They could both take him down if need be. "We are heading back to check on my baby girl," he said confidently. "Why are you out here? Shouldn't you be with her?" his tone was more than a little accusatory.

Booth could easily detect the tone Max used with him. "Don't worry, Max. She needed a few minutes to handle a few things on her own," he said. "Plus, she wanted me to get her something to drink. I'm going to get it and head right back."

Pops chose that moment to jump into the conversation. He knew his grandson and he could tell something had him on edge. "What's up, Shrimp?" he asked. "Everything alright?"

Booth looked his grandfather right in the eyes. He knew he saw something and he didn't want him to figure it out so he chose denial as the best option. "Everything's fine, Pops. Bones. . . she had a nightmare and woke up a little freaked out but she's calming down now. She just . . ." he stuttered a little as he talked. "She just needed a few minutes to collect her thoughts," he said.

"Uh huh," Hank said in a doubtful manner. He could tell Seeley was nervous about something. "Maybe I should go check on the lovely Temperance myself. I need to make sure you are taking good care of her anyway."

Max took that opportunity to jump in. "He's right, Booth. She's my baby girl and I need to make sure she's okay," he said as he motioned for Hank and the pair began to walk down the hall.

"Whoa, stop!" Booth stopped the men in their tracks almost daring them to pass. "Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars," he fussed. "Bones is fine. She just needed a few minutes and a drink. I'm going to get her a ginger ale and then head back there now. You guys need to give her a little more time." His tone was firm and completely resolute. He would not allow anyone to interrupt her thoughts. She didn't need any help coming up with ways to avoid talking about emotions.

Max looked at Booth with a questioning set of eyes. As much as Booth would spend eons denying it, they were very much alike. They both would die for their loved ones and would stop at nothing to protect them. They respected each other for it but it was almost as if they each felt the other's methods of protecting Temperance Brennan were second rate. Booth chose to follow the rule of law and Max didn't.

Hank obviously saw the pair in the midst of a non-verbal pissing match and decided he'd better step in before one of them opted to make a move. "Seeley, you better get your girl a ginger ale and Max, I think I just saw those leggy nurses head toward the break room. I can pretend to have dementia and see if you can get their numbers," Hank said before heading down the hallway in an elderly sprint.

Max gave Booth one last look before sighing and heading down the hall in pursuit of the older Booth.

Grateful that he had averted a major disaster, Booth headed down the hall to retrieve the desired (or distracting) ginger ale before heading back to her hospital room. It didn't take him long to reach her small room in the emergency department. He stood at the door very briefly and peeked in. She looked worn, possibly even pensive, but to him she was and would always be beautiful. She had her head resting against the back of the hospital bed. Her eyes were pinched shut probably against the physical pain and the emotional struggle he knew was going on in that big brain of hers.

He waited for a second longer but knew that if she looked up and saw him staring at her it wouldn't help his case. He'd never felt himself capable of stalking a woman, but if he didn't get to spend time with Temperance Brennan, he might fall off the deep end and stalk her. She was just that amazing and beautiful. He took a deep breath and forced himself to enter the room. He placed the ginger ale on the rolling table and went ahead and popped the top for her.

Brennan didn't open her eyes. She actually took her arm and rested it over her eyes instead. Booth was a little surprised when she spoke. "I am not a child, Booth. I am quite capable of opening an aluminum soda can without assistance," she argued without moving.

That remark shook Booth to the core. '_Not a good sign,'_ he thought to himself. Clearly, her independence hadn't softened during his short absence. He considered giving up but needed a little more evidence. He decided to push a little bit and see if she softened during the conversation. "Head still hurt?" he asked hoping she would give him a little more information to indicate that her pissy mood was due to injury and not her decision about their relationship.

She sighed slightly, partly due to his ability to read her and partly due to the emotional impact his earlier admission was having on her. "It's irrational, I know, but it feels as though someone is using a pneumatic drill to bore a hole through my frontal and ethmoid bones."

"Bones," he chuckled a little. "Only you would use those terms instead of saying _it hurts like hell_," he teased before giving her an out. He realized that maybe he shouldn't have pushed her. He wasn't sure if it was slight remorse or slight fear that told him to give her an out, but he did it anyway. "Bones, I really shouldn't have brought up the conversation of love a few minutes ago," he explained. "You're hurt and I know you can't think about things as well."

That got her attention. Brennan slid her arm up slightly so that it was resting on her forehead and she could look him in the eye for a second. "My brain is functioning at my typical level of functioning at the moment," she protested. "I assume, however, when I receive a more definitive diagnosis from the doctor, I will receive a higher level of narcotics and at that point I will probably be functioning at a level similar to a person of average intelligence."

He couldn't even speak. He just laughed. That was his Bones, always defensive at her intelligence. He inwardly wondered if she had had her intelligence challenged as a teenager. It would have made sense that if her foster parents were dumb enough to lock her in a car, they were probably dumb enough to call her stupid. He hoped that one day she would open up entirely about her experiences.

Booth saw her wince slightly and returned her arm to its position over her eyes. He immediately felt a slight pang in his stomach for causing her pain. He whispered a little more quietly this time. "Sorry, Bones," he said. "What I meant is that we don't really have to talk about things right now. We can talk later," he finished.

She answered him in a firm tone. "I want to talk about it Booth," she began. "Just . . . just flip off the light and let me drink some of the soda before we start," she said.

What was probably only two or three minutes seemed like an eternity to Booth. He would honestly wait on her for an eternity if he had to. She was definitely worth it. Thankfully, however, she started the conversation before he even began to bounce his leg on the floor.

"Alright," Brennan said in a slightly strained voice. "I'm ready."

Booth took that as his cue to begin paying attention. He slid his chair a little closer to her bed and placed a simple hand on her arm much like the time he had given her a part of his heart at the cemetery that day a few years back. He didn't know what her answer was going to be but his simple hand, he hoped, would be reassurance that he was there for her no matter what her decision was.

"I'm a scientist . . . " she began and was stammering slightly. "But you already knew that, right?" she questioned rhetorically. "I'm sorry, Booth, I find I am struggling to compile the words to accurately state my feelings."

"Bones, you don't have . . . " he said before she interrupted him.

"Booth, I want to, just bear with me," she requested.

He gave her a simple nod and squeezed her forearm in understanding. He'd bear with her as long as she wanted him to.

Brennan paused for a few more seconds and started again. "By nature, I am a scientist. I believe in things I can quantify, things I can measure or see with microscopes or instrumentation. I don't believe in other things," she was opening up to him and he could tell that she was removing the remnants of one of those strong bulwarks that kept her emotions inside and the eyes and hearts of others out. "I'm not sure if I was that way before my parents left or not, but I guess that doesn't matter. I am who I am," she said. "I'm damaged, untrusting, and closed off."

Booth went to protest the things she was saying but she headed him off. "Booth, let me finish. Please?" she almost begged.

He saw that she was getting somewhere and had something she wanted to say so he just nodded. He owed it to her to allow her to finish, but he just didn't like her saying those things about herself. Sure, most people thought she was damaged goods but he knew better. He'd seen her huge heart and passion and he loved it.

"After spending time with you and with Angela and even with my dad, I have learned that I can trust some people. Not everyone will leave me or hurt me. That was the first thing I had to learn. I still don't trust most people but I know that I at least have a set of people I can trust. I have a family."

"You're right, Bones," he chimed it. "We have a family."

She nodded at him and then took a deep breath before starting again. "Love . . .love is another thing. Love is more of a risk. I means giving yourself to someone completely," she struggled to force out those words and a simple tear managed to escape her eye. She quickly wiped it away and sniffled slightly. "I have always believe that love was just the effect of neurotransmitters released when someone encountered a suitable mate. I now know, however, that that was a police out."

He interrupted her with a slight giggle and said, "Cop out, Bones, I think you mean cop out."

"Whatever," she responded. "There are debates in science everyday over what occurred first. Did prokaryotes exist before eukaryotes, did cellular organelles develop before or after the first prokaryote engulfed another creating a eukaryote, did inorganic give rise to organic?" she began to ramble and stopped herself. "I think you get the picture," she cut her eyes to him and he gave her a simple nod so she went on. "What I have learned through my experience as a scientist is that sometimes arguing over what came first can sometimes distract from the evidence that you actually have. If we spend all of our time trying to determine the actual first event, we may never see that the event itself actually occurred. It doesn't really matter if organelles formed before or after eukaryotes arose. What matters is that they are there and that we can study them."

Booth wasn't sure how he actually understood where she was going but he did. Amidst the technical words she was actually making a point and he got that.

"I came to that conclusion about scientific matters years ago but I wasn't willing to make the allowance for emotional matters. To me, emotions didn't matter only the science behind them mattered to me. If I could blame emotions of science, then I could minimize them," she continued. "I realize that I was wrong to make the assumption that all emotions were due to science. I discounted the fact that maybe some science could be the result of emotions. Now, I'm willing to make that concession."

She stopped briefly and took another sip of the ginger ale before getting to the real meat of her triad.

"Booth, when I look at you, there is definitely a reaction from my brain. For a long time, I just attributed it to the breadth of your shoulders and your strong jaw line. Now, I know that it's so much more than that," another tear streamed down her cheek as she spoke. "I'm not sure when it happened but now, I look at you and a see a warrior, a man who is absolutely amazing. You are a protector, a friend, and I am quite sure that I have never felt the same set of chemical reactions in the presence of anyone else. When I'm with you, I feel safe, I feel secure, and I feel loved. I want nothing more than to spend every second I possibly can with you," she said. "I can't explain the way I feel with you away with science. It is what it is and I have no other argument but to admit that I'm in love with you, Booth," she looked him right in the eye and saw thy smile begin to form on his face at those words.

"It doesn't matter what I call it, I feel it and I never want it to end," she said. "When I wake up in the morning, I think about you first. When I've had a really crappy day, I think about going to the diner with you and bickering over the benefits of salad over fried carbohydrate products and then eating your fries anyway," she smiled a little at the mention. "As disgusting as it may seem, when I was regurgitating today, I wished you were with me because I knew that just you being there could make me feel better. You are the one constant I have in my life, Booth," she finished and took a deep breath. "I think I'm done now. I'm not sure if that made any sense but I tried."

"Bones, it made perfect sense," were the few simple words Booth said before getting up, sitting beside her and putting his lips on hers.

As soon as their lips met, the sparks began to go off in each of their hearts and minds. It was as if the circuit was finally complete. Their tongues danced in a synchronize rhythm as each of them took the pleasure of learning the other. Sure, they had shared two kisses in the past but this one was different, it was tender, meaningful, and neither of them had to be drunk or bribed to do it.

Booth would have gladly kissed her forever but he knew he needed to end the kiss so he pulled back. He immediately planted a kiss on her forehead and then smoothed her hair slightly. "We have plenty of time for this later, Bones," he said gently. "For now, we need to round up your doctor and see if we can get you out of here soon."

She nodded at him and allowed him to stand and press the call button. She felt a weight lifted from her chest. The lingering questions had finally been answered. Yes, they were in love.

It was only a few minutes later that the nurse entered. "Everything alright?" she asked.

"Yes," Brennan answered quickly. "We were just curious as to when the doctor would be available to release me?" she was blunt with her question. She knew her body and she knew she wouldn't need to spend the night in the hospital. She was ready to fight if it was even suggested.

The nurse laughed just a little before answering. "He should be her in just a few minutes."

Booth and Brennan both nodded and the nurse exited quietly.

Max and Hank had quickly become classic examples of bickering, aging men. They had an immediate bond but part of that bond included fussing about everything. They had fussed about how much time they should give the 'kids' to discuss things. They bickered over which table to sit at in the cafeteria and they were currently bickering over who was going to talk to who in order to speed up the process of getting Booth and Brennan to acknowledge their undying love for each other.

"Tempe is my daughter," Max said sternly. "I'm going to talk to her."

"I don't think so," Hank said just as definitively. "The lovely Temperance and I have a special understanding. She'll listen to me before she'll listen to anyone else."

They rounded the corner and almost entered Brennan's small emergency room but the sight before them stopped them in their tracks. Booth had resumed his position on Brennan's bed. Their eyes were fixed on each other and it was immediately obvious to both Max and Hank that something big had happened.

"Well, I'll be damned," Max said. "Looks like Booth finally manned up and grew a set."

They were both pondering how or if they should break up the moment between the partners when a young doctor did their jobs and tapped slightly on the door but didn't wait for a response before entering. "Dr. Brennan," he said as he crossed the threshold.

Max and Hank entered behind him and they both leaned up against the cabinet toward the back of the room.

The young doctor positioned himself on the stool and called up a few X-Rays on his tablet computer before he began to speak. "I have your test results," he stated

Brennan nodded at him and then felt Booth take her hand into his own. She felt more secure immediately.

"Looks like you have a fairly substantial concussion but no bleeds, swelling, or anything like that," he said and then pulled up a different image. "It also looks like you managed to escape any fractures. I'm going to release you only if you have someone that can take care of you for the next couple of days. Dizziness, nausea, and headaches are going to make you pretty miserable. If you don't have someone who can stay with you, I'm going to keep you for at least 24 hours. I'll write you a few prescriptions to help keep you comfortable and then you need to have a follow up on Tuesday before you go back to work."

Brennan immediately looked at Booth but met a pair of very sad, very guilt ridden eyes. "I'm sorry, Bones. I have Pops with me," he said. It nearly broke his heart to say it. He felt like he was betraying her. She had just given him everything he'd ever wanted and then he was telling her he couldn't be there for her.

Hank immediately raised his eyebrows. "Whoa now, Shrimp!" he spoke very loudly. "I don't need a babysitter," he said. "As a matter of fact, Max and I have already made plans and were just dropping by to tell you Max would be taking me back to the assisted living. I just need the key to your apartment so I can get my things."

Max looked at Hank and was a little stunned. He knew he'd have to play along. Hank was doing this for his daughter. She needed Booth. She didn't need to spend a night in the hospital. "That's right, kiddos," he said as he stepped forward and dropped a kiss on his daughter's cheek. "You take care of my baby girl, Booth, or you'll have me to deal with," he said.

"Me too," Hank added. "Seeley, I'll see you next weekend for dominoes. I hope you can join us, Temperance."

Brennan nodded and gave him a smile. Max and Hank exited the room and paused for just a second just beyond the threshold and Max broke the silence. "What on earth are we going to do tonight?" he asked.

A big grin grew on Hank's face. "Well, I know this club," he said. "I went there with Seeley and Temperance when they were working on that case when I was here last time. Plenty of women to go around," he said.

Initially, Max wanted to protest but decided it wouldn't hurt anything. "What the hell," he said and the pair exited the hospital. Both of them were elated that their offspring had finally found contentment.


End file.
